Eve walked back to the formal gardens with George, then squeezed out between the bushes again. As she stood beside the scullery window, she heard someone weeping in the manor house above her. The sound came through an open window on the second floor. Was Miss Audrey home from her fancy boarding school? She’d been away for most of the time Eve had worked at Wellingford, returning home only a handful of times. Now she was crying her heart out over something.
Eve slipped through the kitchen door, then tiptoed up the servants’ staircase. Her own bedroom was on the third floor with the other servants’ rooms, but she stopped on the second floor beside the forbidden door that led to the Clarksons’ bedrooms. Mum worked in there as Lady Rosamunde’s personal maid, but Eve had never been in the Clarksons’ part of the house before. She wasn’t allowed. She heard the pitiful cries from the stairwell and made up her mind to open the door. Once in the hallway, it was easy to follow the sound. A soft carpet muffled her footsteps. She trailed her fingers along the walls, which were covered with pretty striped paper. Sparkly electric lights lit the way. Eve hesitated outside Miss Audrey’s door before knocking on it.
“Who’s there?” a voice called from inside.
Eve opened the door a crack and peered inside. “It’s me.”
“I didn’t summon a maid,” Miss Audrey said, sitting up on her grand bed. “What do you want?”
Eve glanced around to make sure Audrey was alone, then ducked into the room and closed the door behind her. For a long moment, Eve couldn’t say why she’d come, struck dumb by the fairy-tale room. It was as large as her entire cottage in the village, and every wall was covered with pale-blue paper with tiny white flowers. Miss Audrey’s enormous bed had a tentlike roof of soft-blue cloth with tied-back curtains around the sides. A thick, patterned rug covered the floor, and one entire wall of the room had shelves filled with books and dolls and even a little toy house. Eve wasn’t finished looking at everything when Audrey said, “You’re the girl from the woods! What are you doing here?”
“I brought you something,” she said, carefully scooping the strawberries from her pocket. They were still warm from the sun. “I just picked them.” Eve stepped closer and poured them into Audrey’s lap. “Try one.”
Audrey brushed a speck of dirt off one and put it into her mouth.
“Good, aren’t they?” Eve asked.
“Yes. Thank you.” Audrey gave a little shudder as if trying to dislodge one final sob.
“I was going to eat all of them, but you sounded so sad that I thought you needed them more than me.”
“We could share them.” Audrey returned two of the berries. Eve closed her eyes as she chewed, letting the juice fill her mouth. “How did you get into my house?” Audrey asked.
“I live here now. I work down in the scullery. Your window was open and I heard you crying, so I wanted to cheer you up. Why don’t you come outside with me? Whenever I feel sad, it always helps me to go outside.”
“Mother is angry with me. I’m meant to stay in my room.”
“Well, I’m meant to be scrubbing pots but I don’t always do what I’m meant to do. The rain finally stopped and the sun is shining for once. Come on.”
Audrey hesitated, then climbed off the enormous bed and followed Eve to the door.
“You still owe me a picnic lunch, remember?” Eve said, turning to her. “But I won’t claim it today.” She led Audrey down the hall, to the servants’ door.
“Wait. Where are you going?”
“I can’t go down the main staircase. I would get lost, for one thing, since I’ve never been in your part of the house before. And for another thing, Robbins would shoot me on sight if he caught me. Follow me.”
She led Audrey down the back stairs, pausing to listen when they reached the bottom. Silence. Most of the servants rested in the afternoon before the rush of preparations for the evening meal. “Can you run?” Eve asked. “We have to make a dash through the kitchen to the back door before Tildy sees us. Ready?” She didn’t give Audrey time to reply before sprinting across the room and through the door. Miss Audrey followed at a dainty jog. Eve led her through an opening in the hedge and into the formal gardens, then collapsed on a patch of grass beside the fountain. “It’s beautiful in here, isn’t it?”
“I can’t run as fast as you,” Audrey said, panting.
“Nobody can. I was always the fastest runner in school at the end-of-term races. I won all the prizes.”